by Jeff Olson, Special to USA TODAY Sports

by Jeff Olson, Special to USA TODAY Sports

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. â?? A.J. Foyt held court Saturday on everything from Danica Patrick's new romance to Foyt's new IndyCar driver during a light-hearted and irreverent press conference before the start of the Rolex 24.

"I have to take the Fifth on that," he said. "I've been married 57 years, so I have to take the Fifth. You never know what's going to happen, so you have to take the Fifth."

Foyt, a four-time Indianapolis 500 champion, recently hired Japanese driver Takuma Sato to drive the Foyt Racing IndyCar this season. After acknowledging his skill at speaking Japanese was "terrible," Foyt added, "What I like about him is he's got a lot of kamikaze in him."

Foyt, who has battled heath issues in recent years, looked spry and healthy during Saturday's appearance. He had to cancel an appearance before last year's Rolex 24 because of an infection after knee surgery. Two years ago, he had heart surgery.

He admitted he's slowly relinquishing responsibility of his team to son Larry but says he isn't out of the mix. In December, he was in attendance at Sebring International Raceway when his team tested Conor Daly.

"I'm kind of backing out more and more," Foyt said Saturday. "I still go to all the races, and I'm still the one who has to sign the checks, so I still have a little control over it."